Monthly Archives: August 2008

Every night, after we change her diaper and put her pajamas on, after she’s been nursed and after she’s been read her bedtime story, we recite this poem, by Karla Kuskin: Wordless words.A tuneless tune.Blow out the sun.Draw down the shade.Turn off the dog.Snap on the stars.Unwrap the moon.Wish leafy, sleeping trees good nightand listen […]

Yesterday Tucker and I had a rough day. Tucker kept whining and I kept crying. So Mom, exasperated (which is a word she used but I’m not sure what it means), decided a change of scenery was in order and she made us all go into the kitchen. I got a kick out of Mom […]

This past weekend Sophie and Andy had a lot of bonding time as I went to Aimee’s bachelorette party, attended her wedding shower and went to Rebecca’s baby shower. All three of us went to Angel and Marty’s fabulous summer party, where Angel officially announced her good news: Sophie did a great job taking her […]

Last week Sophie got her first taste of school while I helped my mom set up her kindergarten classroom. She played with her toys while I worked on the calendar, sat on my lap while I organized crayons and tried to eat the smelly stickers. She was a huge hit in the front office (I […]

Last week, after lunch, Tari and I walked our sleepy girls across The Purple People Bridge. It was a typical August day—hot and sunny—and I worried about keeping Sophie shaded the entire time. Unfortunately, I didn’t worry enough about myself and ended up with a terrible sunburn. (Sophie was fine.) Still, we had a good […]

Guess what? A second ago I was on my stomach. And now I’m on my back! Mom didn’t help me at all. She did, however, seem awfully excited. Then she took this picture. “‘What is he doing?’ the four little puppies asked one another. And down they went to see, roly-poly, pell-mell, tumble-bumble, till they […]

Before Sophie was born I envisioned her nursery as a simple one—lots of books, some wooden blocks and maybe a few dolls. I vowed never to live in a house where, upon entering, you immediately knew a baby lived there. I didn’t want brightly colored plastic to be my conversation pieces. I wanted our handmade […]

My uncle has grown blackberries for 20 years. Since 2002, he has made and sold blackberry jam. I’ve always wanted to know how to make jam, so this year I helped. Here’s a photo essay: We took a break and, while listening to the ping of the jam jars setting, we enjoyed my grandma’s delicious […]

What used to be used for this: Is now being used for this: I ordered this cradle online, several days before Sophie was born. It was waiting for us on the front porch when we came home from the hospital, three weeks earlier than planned. Andy ran out to buy some things we needed and […]